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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 31 Oct 1990

Vol. 402 No. 3

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Citizens in Kuwait and Iraq.

Peter Barry

Question:

17 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has met with the relatives of Irish people in Iraq and Kuwait; the dates these meetings took place; if he was requested by them to send an all-party delegation to Iraq to seek exit visas for those who wish to leave; and if he will outline his attitude to this request.

Proinsias De Rossa

Question:

18 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps the Government are taking to try to secure the release of Irish citizens who have been refused permission to leave Iraq and Kuwait; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Nora Owen

Question:

27 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the special steps which the Government have taken to ensure the safety and immediate release of Irish hostages currently held in Iraq and Kuwait; and if he has called in the Ambassador accredited to Ireland to indicate this country's abhorrence of the illegal holding of Irish hostages in Iraq and Kuwait.

Nora Owen

Question:

60 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the action he has taken to obtain the release of Irish hostages in Iraq and Kuwait.

Alan Shatter

Question:

62 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he has taken to secure the release from Iraq of all Irish nationals who wish to leave and return to Ireland.

Peter Barry

Question:

67 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make arrangements for an all-party group to visit Iraq on behalf of the Irish in that country.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 18, 27, 60, 62 and 67 together.

The Government are deeply concerned about the plight of our citizens trapped in Kuwait and Iraq. Since the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on 2 August, the safety and welfare of the over 400 Irish citizens in both countries has been and will continue to be a matter of very great concern to the Government. In both countries all Irish citizens are safe. None has been detained as part of the "human shield". I can assure the House that everything that can be done is being done to tackle the problems caused to Irish citizens as a result of Iraq's actions.

From the outset of the Gulf crisis, the Taoiseach and I have involved ourselves personally in the co-ordination of the national response to the plight of our citizens in Kuwait and Iraq. As part of the EC Troika of Foreign Ministers, I visited a number of capitals in the Gulf area in the days following the invasion. The question of the welfare and safety of our citizens was specifically raised during my meetings with Arab leaders. On my instructions, the Ambassador in Baghdad has made and will continue to make repeated and strongly worded protests to the Iraqi authorities from the Foreign Minister downwards about the situation of our citizens. We have increased the staff of our Embassy in Baghdad — all of whom have worked tirelessly to obtain the right for all our citizens to leave Kuwait and Iraq and to make the necessary arrangements in the case of those permitted to leave. I very much regret therefore the recent unjustified decision of the Iraqi authorities to ask the First Secretary of the Embassy in Baghdad to leave Iraq.

I have also been deeply involved in the discussions on this issue with my European Community colleagues. At our meeting of 21 August, the Twelve member states warned Iraq that any attempt to harm or jeopardise the safety of any EC citizen would be considered as a most grave offence directed against the Community and all its member states and would provoke a united response from the entire Community. Iraqi citizens have also been warned that they will be held personally responsible for any involvement in illegal action concerning the security and life of foreign citizens.

In addition to the protests made to the Iraqi authorities on my behalf by our Ambassador in Baghdad, I myself at my meeting last month with the Iraqi Ambassador to Ireland, formally protested on behalf of the Government at Iraq's refusal to respect the rights of people under international law to travel freely, including the right of all Irish people to leave Iraq for the destination of their choice. I informed him that such a denial of a basic human right was unacceptable and a breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iraq is a party.

Our efforts to secure as many visas as possible for our citizens have resulted in 68 per cent or 79 citizens, who were in Kuwait after 2 August, returning home safely. Of the remaining thirty citizens, four women and seven children could have availed of evacuation arrangements but have opted for the moment not to leave Kuwait.

All of the 19 men in Kuwait are free to leave for Iraq but so far have chosen to remain. Although the Embassy in Baghdad has been refused permission to make another consular visit to Kuwait, we keep in regular contact with our citizens through the valuable assistance given by those Western embassies still functioning there. They are continuing to pass messages to the Irish co-ordinator in Kuwait who in turn is in contact with our citizens there.

At the time of the Kuwait invasion, we had almost 300 citizens living in Iraq, the largest group of whom were working for the Parc Hospital in Baghdad. Our efforts to secure exit visas since then have resulted in 77 individuals being allowed to leave. There are now 230 Irish citizens in Iraq including ten who have returned voluntarily. In getting almost 20 per cent of our citizens out of that country, Ireland was the first country to be offered exit visas for the over 55 years of age category. We were the first to secure exit visas for many of our end of contract female employees. The unique Presidential concession of freedom of movement for personnel of the Parc Hospital, subject to the hospital services being continued, should also be a major benefit to Irish citizens working in the hospital when seeking exit visas. Overall almost 40 per cent or 157 Irish citizens who were trapped in Kuwait and Iraq after the 2 August invasion are now home safely.

In order to ensure that the relatives of those stranded in Iraq and Kuwait are kept as fully informed as possible, I formalised the provision of information with the establishment of the Special Information Service on the Middle East. The service collates all available information from our diplomatic missions, the European Community and other sources. It provides up-to-date information to relatives — 12 hours a day, seven days a week. My Department also readily agreed to provide a venue for the weekly meetings of the Gulf Relatives Support Group. Senior officials of the Department have met with the group every week since the invasion to brief the relatives on the latest developments. The Government have also provided to the Relatives Group an office with telephones, fax etc. for their exclusive use. This is intended to enable relatives of people stranded in the Gulf to speak to others who are in a similar situation.

Our recognition of the sense of helplessness many relatives feel is reflected in the willingness of both the Taoiseach and myself to meet the relatives committee.

We have had a full discussion as to how the Government could assist the relatives in this most distressing situation for them. The meetings also provided an opportunity to explain what the Government were doing to seek the early return home of their family members. The Taoiseach met the representation on 29 August and I met them on 11 September and again on 10 October.

At the meeting of 11 September, I undertook to write to all the relatives to explain the reasons why no member of the Government could travel to Iraq in an effort to secure the safe return home of all our citizens in Kuwait and Iraq. Among the reasons set out in my letter of 14 September were the fact that the UN sanctions are specifically designed to isolate Iraq. The holding of foreign nationals is being used by the Iraqis to blackmail individual countries to break that isolation and the solid front of international condemnation of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The best way to prevent war is to adhere strictly to the EC and United Nations common approach against Iraq's breaches of international law. It also offers the best hope for the protection and safe return home of our citizens.

I also indicated in the letter that, for the same reasons of international solidarity, the Government would not encourage a visit to Iraq by members of the Oireachtas. At my meeting with the relatives committee on 10 October, I reiterated that the Government could not approve a visit by members of the Oireachtas to Iraq. At the same time, we are not in a position to stop such a visit. Such a visit has no official status. It must therefore be regarded as strictly private. Accordingly any arrangements for the visit must be made by the Oireachtas members themselves.

In conclusion, the House can be assured that the Government are sparing no effort to secure the maximum possible number of exit visas. It is, however, not within our power to bring our citizens home without the consent of the Iraqi authorities. All pressure is being brought to bear to achieve this end.

That is a very full reply which the subject of the question warrants. From a diplomatic point of view the Minister set out the position quite clearly and it is very hard to argue with the logic of what he is saying. Unfortunately there are people here who have sons and daughters, husbands and wives who are stranded in Iraq and cannot get exit visas. Their reaction will not be the same and they need far more attention than the Minister has been giving them during the past few months. It is regrettable that he did not meet them until six weeks after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The relatives the Minister has met were not satisfied with the Minister's attitude at those meetings. That is extremely regrettable.

Would the Minister accept that it is very hard for the relatives to understand why he will not agree to an all-party delegation going to Iraq when every night on television there are indications that other countries are sending high level diplomats or members of Parliament to Iraq to plead the case of their citizens who are being held hostage by the Iraqi authorities? It appeared that a former British Prime Minister went not alone with the help of his Government but, according to rumour, the Government encouraged him to make the trip. In those circumstances does the Minister not consider that there should be a much greater public relations effort on his part which should not be confined to Dublin?

The Department of Foreign Affairs are available to those relatives who live in or near Dublin but many of the PARC employees live at considerable distances from Dublin. Does the Minister not consider that it would be more helpful to the relatives if an official of his Department would visit relatives in areas outside Dublin, such as Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford? For many of the relatives it is a big expense to go to Dublin to see officials at St. Stephen's Green.

I have to intervene to say that this question has taken up a disproportionate amount of time available to questions nominated for priority. It leaves very little time to dispose of any other questions. Is this the way we want to proceed?

I apologise to the two Deputies who are waiting to ask supplementary questions.

There are three more questions to be disposed of.

Deputy Barry is incorrect in saying that the former British Prime Minister Edward Heath had the approval of the British Government to go to Iraq. That is not so. It has been denied very strongly by the Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, and also by the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Thatcher.

There are doubts.

If Deputy Barry has doubts on what Mrs. Thatcher says in a matter such as this, I cannot do anything about it.

He did go.

Of course he did and others went from other countries. Regarding the possibility of an all-party delegation going to Iraq, I made very clear to the relatives groups our thinking on this matter. When the Taoiseach met the relatives in August this question was raised by them and he clearly explained why it was not possible. I did so again in September and October. These relatives, for whom we provide every facility to meet on a weekly basis, are fully informed on everything that is happening in this respect.

At the Summit meeting in Rome this weekend the Heads of State and Government decided that not only would we not promote or encourage parliamentary delegations from going to Iraq but we would discourage such delegations. This is a very important question.

Deputy Barry is being somewhat unfair when he says that the services of the Department of Foreign Affairs are principally for the Dublin area. That is not so. The Department of Foreign Affairs are in regular touch with the families. Officials take the initiative in ringing the families every couple of days. If the Deputy wants a section of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Cork, Limerick or Galway for public relations purposes, that is another matter. The services they are giving are excellent. The groups of relatives the Taoiseach and I met in August, September and October understand the reason for the Government stand on this matter, but of course they have great concern for members of their families. Many of us have personal friends and neighbours there and we all have that concern. The Government and the staff of the Department of Foreign Affairs will continue to make every effort possible to get our people home safely and quickly.

I thank the Minister for his detailed reply. I am conscious of the sensitivities of this matter, as are all other Deputies. My party support the political stance of the Government in relation to Iraq and we share concern about Irish people in Iraq and Kuwait. Would the Minister confirm that Irish people in Kuwait are free to travel to Iraq if they so choose? Are all Irish people fully aware of this and are all the relatives satisfied that this is the case? The major concerns conveyed to me were by the relatives of people in Kuwait. Will the normal courtesies which an Irish embassy abroad would give to any Irish citizen or Member of Parliament be extended to the Oireachtas Members who intend to go to Iraq tomorrow, barring a general election?

On the question of whether Irish people in Kuwait are informed as to their position, the answer is yes. I said in the course of my original reply that we have been refused permission for another consular visit. During the course of the last consular visit our representative was arrested and held for a considerable period. With regard to the proposed visit, which I discourage as I am bound to do having regard to the communiqué from the special Rome summit on Sunday, if people do visit Iraq certainly the normal courtesies will be provided by our staff. The staff are very busy but I would certainly hope that the normal facilities would be afforded to anybody visiting Iraq.

The Minister can tell them to expect us.

The time available for priority questions is definitely exhausted.

The Minister spoke of a co-ordinator of the Irish people in Kuwait. Is it a diplomatic officer or a volunteer?

One of the people who was in Kuwait is helping us considerably. He co-ordinates on behalf of the people there. He communicates with us through embassy facilities provided for us by other member states of the EC.

Let us now deal with other questions, No. 21.

He is known to all the people in Kuwait; is he?

In an effort to help I should say there are extreme difficulties in maintaining and establishing contact with people in Kuwait. As the Deputy knows, the whole system there has collapsed. The person who is co-ordinating for us works through one of the existing embassies there. But if it is a question of getting messages through that is something we will consider.

I am calling Question No. 21.

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